Xbox One X: Everything you need to know

Formerly known as "Project Scorpio", the super-powerful Xbox One X has finally been unveiled. Find out why this is a life-changing console for gamers and anyone with a 4K TV…

What is Xbox One X?

The follow up to the Xbox One and Microsoft’s answer to the PS4 Pro. Originally known as Project Scorpio, the Xbox One X was launched in June, ahead of the E3 gaming show in Los Angeles.

What is it all about? 4K gaming and beyond

The Xbox One X is ‘both the most powerful and smallest console Xbox has ever built’ offering ‘40% more power than any other console’.

It uses this power to deliver true 4K gaming at a speedy 60 frames per second to your 4K TV. This is great news for anyone who has recently bought a 4K TV and perhaps a good enough reason to invest in one if you’re a serious gamer. Xbox recommends Samsung’s flagship QLED TVs as a good option.

Xbox announced a pile of new games to show off the X’s power. Assassin’s Creed Origins takes gamers to Ancient Egypt, while action RPG Ashen and combat adventure Black Desert are great Xbox One X exclusives.

Plus, there’ll be over 100 Xbox One X Enhanced titles like EA SPORTS FIFA 18 and Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus.

What about your old Xbox games and HD TV?

Not planning on upgrading your TV? Every new Xbox One X game will work on both 4K TVs and also HD TVs. For a full list of new Xbox One X games, see this Xbox Wire blog

Even though you won’t be playing in 4K on a HD television, you’ll enjoy ‘better textures, smoother frame rates and faster load times’ even at 1080p. What about your old Xbox One games? These will run on the X too, with the new console unlocking better performance.

More powerful than Xbox One and PS4 Pro

At the heart of a games console is the processor and the one inside Xbox One X is 30% faster than the one inside Xbox One.

When it comes to graphics, consoles need serious power to handle today’s visually stunning games. And Xbox One X has 4.6 times more graphics power than Xbox One. The PS4 Pro and Xbox One X are designed for 4K gaming, but the X has more graphics and processing power.

The X has 12GB or RAM compared to 8GB on the PS4 Pro. Both consoles have 8 CPU cores, but the cores in the Xbox One X are faster than PS4 Pro.

Xbox One X core runs at 2.3GHz

PS4 Pro cores run at 2.1GHz

Graphically, it is also faster the PS4 Pro. The PS4 Pro has 36 cores compared to the X’s 40. The 40 cores in the X run faster than those in in the PS4.

The X can handle 6 teraflops per second. More flops mean more graphics moving faster. And a teraflop is a trillion flops. The PS4 Pro can only handle 4.12 teraflops.

Anything else?

Yes, Xbox One X has an Ultra HD Blu-ray player built-in. Another major boost if you already have a 4K TV. It also uses cutting-edge cooling technology (like you would find in a high-end gaming PC) to stop the processor overheating.